Chapter 192

“Ah, now that I think about it, the last time you came to me for advice was around Miss Shiina’s last birthday, wasn’t it?” Amane knew he wouldn’t be able to come up with something that would truly please Mahiru on his own, so after school one day when neither of them had work, he grabbed his number-one advisor, Itsuki, and held a meeting at a fast food restaurant. He wasn’t planning on indiscriminately telling people that Mahiru’s birthday was coming up, but he had enlisted Itsuki’s help the year before, which meant he already had a general idea of when it was, so Amane didn’t hesitate to turn to him again. “It sounds like she doesn’t want to let too many people know, so don’t go blabbing.” “I know better than that. What kinda guy do you think I am?” They were there between the lunch and dinner rushes, so there was a chance the french fries had been sitting out a while. Itsuki held a limp fry between his fingers and wiggled it back and forth as he squinted his eyes, shocked. “Miss Shiina is even more guarded than you, Amane. If I had to say, maybe even more of a loner… Actually, mmm, maybe ‘exclusive’ is more fitting. She’s the type who only reveals her true feelings to the people she likes.” “…You’ve really got her pegged.” “Please don’t glare at me like that! You’re scaaaring me! Enough jeaaalousy! Listen, man, it’s simple. She’s just like Yuuta and me.” “Huh… Well, you do have some similarities.” Both Itsuki and Yuuta had friendly exteriors but invisible walls around other parts of themselves. They were similar to Mahiru in that way, despite their otherwise different personalities. Though Itsuki smoothed everything over with his overblown comical attitude, Amane, his best friend, knew he didn’t like to let people inside his head. And in Yuuta’s case, considering all the attention he received, he probably never let his mild-mannered expression drop so people wouldn’t bother him. “Right? So we understand what will make her uncomfortable. And anyway, I’m not the kind of petty person who would go out of my way to make trouble for my best friend’s girlfriend.” “I know that.” “Oh wow, you really trust me!” “You’re only noticing this now?” Amane thought it was fairly obvious that he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of consulting Itsuki if he didn’t trust him. But for some reason, Itsuki looked astonished. Even as Amane dismissed Itsuki’s typical over-the-top reaction, he noticed skepticism suddenly flare in Itsuki’s eyes, before his expression finally changed into an unexpected look of concern. “What’s with you?” Amane asked in a slightly lowered voice. “…Seriously, what’s going on?” Itsuki replied. “This sudden lovey-dovey phase of yours worries me, man.” “Quit looking at me like I’m a weirdo!” “Nah, but seriously…” “Hey!” Amane glared at Itsuki, feeling like his friend was thinking incredibly rude things about him. Suddenly, a shadow fell over their table. Amane looked up at the newcomer. He wasn’t surprised to see her, wearing a bright grin that was even wider than her usual, abundantly charming smile. It was Chitose. “…You charged right in without a care in the world, huh?” “Well, you know, I saw two boys over here conspiring together, so I had to. I just happened to spot you from outside, so I came on in.” Amane knew Chitose had left school ahead of them, going to attend to some other errand, but he had never expected her to show up where they were meeting, and without meaning to, Amane shot her a look of suspicion. Chitose, no different than usual, said with a smirk, “It’s not like I was following you around or anything!” and sat down in the seat beside Itsuki like it was the most natural thing in the world. She pinched a soggy fry and tossed it into her mouth. “So whatcha talking about?” “Looks like someone got comfy quick.” “Pick a better meeting place if you don’t want me hearing about whatever you’re talking about. Itsuki knows I walk by here, and he told me you were having a little boys’ meeting today, which means you must have had a proposal for him, Amane. After all, if you want to discuss something with him, there’s an eighty or ninety percent chance— Actually, a ninety-nine percent chance—that it’s got something to do with Mahiru.” Amane was almost at his wits’ end with Chitose, who could be disturbingly insightful about the weirdest things. But really, she knew about Mahiru’s birthday somewhat, just like Itsuki, and one way or another, he’d been planning to ask her for help, so this just saved him the effort of needing to speak to her separately. Be that as it may, he felt kind of embarrassed that she had accurately seen right through him, so with a soft sigh, he exhaled the uneasy feelings that were swirling around in his chest. “…We’re talking about Mahiru’s birthday.” Amane answered honestly—he didn’t intend to hide it. “See?” Chitose looked smug. “Okay, okay. Got it, got it. Roger, roger. You want to surprise her?” “It’s not gonna be a surprise, but…I did get permission from Mahiru to have a party.” “You really are a thoughtful guy.” “I want to be careful and considerate when it comes to Mahiru.” Amane had often heard that, depending on the situation, a surprise could become a source of resentment. The whole reason he was doing this in the first place was to make her happy—he definitely didn’t want to do anything she wouldn’t like. Mahiru already had some reservations about her birthday, so he had to be especially cautious. He wanted to respect Mahiru’s preferences as much as possible and intended to put in the work so that she could have a birthday she genuinely looked forward to. “Oh-ho-ho, you’re head over heels.” “And you’re too loud. Call it whatever you want.” “Whoot-whoo, you’re madly in love, totally infatuated, crazy about her!” “Itsuki, would you shut her up?” Chitose would only get louder if they didn’t rein her in soon, so Amane asked her boyfriend to quiet her down. Itsuki gave a dramatic, exasperated shrug, grabbed a handful of fries, and said, “Not much I can do about it. Here, eat…,” as he stuffed them all in Chitose’s mouth. Naturally, there was no way Chitose could talk with a mouth full of fries, so she just made muffled chewing noises as she glared at them with obvious dissatisfaction, but Amane completely ignored her. After chewing for a while, Chitose finally swallowed. “Geez,” she complained, but once again, Amane deliberately ignored her whining. “So what were you planning on asking Itsuki to do?” she eventually asked. “Well, I didn’t really have a request… I wanted to start by shopping around for present ideas.” The first thing he had to decide on and prepare right away was her gift. Sometimes, presents took a long time to get together, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was already off to a late start. Although Amane had been busy with his new job, he regretted not starting earlier. “Hmm, I feel like you would know best, Amane. You’re closest to her.” “Yeah, you’re her boyfriend. You’re with her twenty-four seven.” “I am not with her around the clock—get real. But…I guess you’re right. Mahiru isn’t very materialistic, though… Actually, anytime she wants something, she immediately weighs the cost in her mind and buys it if she can…” “Ah… She is kind of like that, huh?” Chitose sounded a little exasperated—she probably knew even better than he did, since she often went shopping with Mahiru. “Mahiru never mentions things that she wants offhand. She’s the type who buys things for herself. I’ve heard her talk about things you might want, Amane, but almost never herself…” I wish Mahiru didn’t worry so much about what I want… As Mahiru’s boyfriend, Amane had a unique perspective on her desires, and his brow wrinkled slightly with uncertainty over whether that was a good thing or whether she was too hard to read.